A lot of talk and speculation has surrounded Di Maria and his imminent move to Old Trafford this summer. Today he has passed his medical and the fans are just awaiting an announcement on their new record signing.
Already people are divided as to whether or not this is good business from a Manchester United point of view. Some suggest that the acquisition of one of the worlds top talents is a huge coo for a club that cannot offer Champions league football and add pace to the United side which they so desperately need at this time. Di Maria is seen as an excellent signing even when its urgently clear that signings are needed in central defence and in midfield.
Others argue that 60 million is a lot of money to spend on an attacking player and suggest the money should go towards strengthening the critical areas of defence and midfield.
Van Gaal has been using a 3-5-2 formation at United similar to that of his recent World cup squad. However with Di Maria in the side it now looks likely that he will be reverting to his favoured 4-3-3 formation which he used at Bayern Munich, Ajax and Barcelona.
However the problems don't end there. Presumably in a 4-3-3 formation Van Persie would lead the line with Di Maria and Januzaj playing left and right.
David Moyes broke the clubs transfer record to sign Juan Mata. His best position is playing in the pocket as the number 10 and United after spending 37 million pounds to bring him to the club, will want to start him. Chelsea tried to force him wide, which proved to be unfruitful and it was quickly realised that he cant play in any other position. In that sense he doesn't really fit into the United philosophy. He is valuable to United though, scoring 7 league goals in 17 appearances.
Playing Mata at 10 leaves us with the question of where Wayne Rooney fits into the side? Again Moyes made a poor decision in authorising a huge bumper deal in Rooneys contract. He is now, the highest earner at United with a colossal 300,000 pound a week deal and is Van Gaals new club captain. It looks certain that Rooney is in the plans of the new coach. We know from the later years of the Ferguson era that Rooney also cant play in the wide areas. He can play in the number 10 role or leading the line up top.
Last season Di Maria featured regularly for Madrid in the Rooney/Mata position. Between these three players United have invested a phenomenal sum of money and so it remains to be seen how they can all feature in the new system. Perhaps Van Gaal will consider the traditional United 4-4-2 formation which was so successful under Ferguson.
The signing of Di Maria proves that United can still attract the best players in the business but the question remains, how do you solve the problem of Di Maria? ..... Drop Van Persie!
